quiet
by the moonlight mona lisa
Summary: "you shouldn't let her control you like that." - juniper, apollo, athena.
1. grow

**quiet**

**(grow like a flower)**

* * *

**Part One**

* * *

_i._

"C'mon, Junie, you have to!"

Juniper shuffles slightly. She wants to agree with Athena, because Athena is _Thena _and she is much like a silly sister, with a loud voice and booming energy, but this time it's much more personal. If she were to agree, she thinks, she'd be too nervous to do anything, and then... Well, it'd go downhill from there.

"...B-but, Thena, I _can't_!"

"Aw, c'mon, why not?"

"I.. I, um, have a test to study for."

Athena pouts. She looks like a puppy who had just been scolded and Juniper stares and stares and stares and oh, dear, she's falling for this silly game again, isn't she?

"Come on, Athena, leave her alone. If she doesn't want to, she doesn't want to."

_Oh. _That's Apollo, warm and bright and all things bright and beautiful and Juniper feels herself blushing - from the boy or her thoughts, she can't be sure. Then she hears Athena let out a defeated sigh, but not without chuckling first.

"Oh, alright then, I guess you don't have to come..."

It's something in Athena's voice that makes Juniper want to agree. Fine, she'll come, so stop pouting, stop being a dejected little puppy, but when she goes to open her mouth, Apollo appears with his hand on her shoulder.

"Don't take it back. You'll just be giving her the satisfaction."

Athena's smirk fades, and then she glares at Apollo, and even though Apollo's touch is making her blush and way too warm, Juniper lets out a little giggle. They stare at her, and she giggles some more and tries to worm her way out of Athena's sight.

"I... I should be going now."

Athena stares at her intently, but follows her out. The energy around them grows much, much more serious and Athena's eyes are burning like coals when she looks at Juniper next.

"Junie... Just think it over, okay? It'd mean a lot to me if you came. After all, Simon's... still kind of shut out."

"Oh. Thena... I... I didn't realize this was about him..."

Athena's smile is sad, "Yeah, well, that's why I had planned it in the first place. Even though he's gotten out and we helped defend Aura and all, he's just.. he's still..."

Juniper nods, "It's okay, I get it. And... um... I'll see if I can let up on the studying. If you really want me to come, I'll... try to make it."

Athena gets very excited then, and Juniper is glad the seriousness is gone because Athena being so serious is almost a little scary.

* * *

_ii._

The party's not so bad. Trucy performs magic tricks and Juniper notes that Simon seems to be opening up, and she doesn't object when Athena pulls her over to talk to him. After all, they had known him since they were eleven.

Simon is still cold, and there's no reason for him not to be. But he's still very gentle towards Athena, and Juniper smiles because they've always had something that's gentle and precious. It makes for a much better romance novel than actual books that are sold, even if Athena and Simon aren't in love.

"So you came."

Apollo.

"I... couldn't say no. Not after Thena told me what this was for."

Apollo stares at her, and there's something incredibly warm and kind about that gaze. He doesn't say anything, then, and just stares. Juniper begins to blush, and Apollo lets up on his gaze.

"Athena really cares about him, huh?"

"Yes, she does. They were always like that, though, even when we were kids. Simon couldn't say no to her, which sometimes ended up in him playing dolls with us."

Apollo laughs. Juniper giggles, too. He has a warm, contagious laugh.

"Even now I think he can't say no to her. After all, he showed up here... And I know, especially for him, it takes a lot of courage to show up around all these people."

Apollo can't reply because Trucy is bounding up to him, "Come on, Apollo! It's time for us to put on our big act!" But when she sees the scene before her, she quirks a brow and smirks, "Or... am I interrupting something?"

Juniper shakes her head, "Oh! No! Not at all! Um... don't mind me..."

Trucy stares, confused, hoping she said nothing to start Juniper. "Okay, Apollo, go get ready!"

"Wait. I never agreed to this!"

Too late.

Juniper feels bad.

* * *

_iii._

The trick is silly, and it consists of Apollo being sawed in half. It's really very silly and Juniper is giggling too much. Even Simon cracks a smile at it, and Athena is happy to see everyone having fun.

"Trucy. I didn't agree to that!"

"Yeah, well me and Athena did!"

Athena laughs and high fives Trucy and Juniper frowns, just a little bit. She feels bad for Apollo - they took advantage of the poor boy. Simon stares at her, and opens his mouth, but closes it.

Apollo sighs deeply and walks away, standing in a corner. Poor thing, Juniper thinks.

"Poor Apollo," Juniper says out loud.

Athena laughs and Trucy joins in, but Simon says nothing. He looks at Juniper curiously, but shows no intention of speaking. Simon eventually leaves, and the other four are left alone. It's nothing new.

Trucy leaves next, leaving her props in the office, saying she'd clean up later, but they all know how that goes.

"Hey, Juniper! You should come tomorrow, too!"

Oh, but she _really_ can't this time. "Thena, I can't this time. I really do have to study, you know."

Athena pouts and Juniper lets out a sigh. Apollo watches silently. "I'll... see what I can do, but no promises, Thena!"

Athena grins widely and Juniper feels much, much better, smiling back at her. Athena leaves after that, and then it's just her and Apollo... alone. Oh, that Athena!

"You shouldn't let her control you like that."

What?

"I... I don't know what you mean."

If he was going to explain, he would've. He drops the issue then, and instead tries to dissuade the topic. "I'll walk you out."

Juniper nods, but she knows that whatever Apollo was talking about, he feels guilty now. She would love to tell him that it's alright, it's not a problem, he's only looking out for her, but the thought alone makes her blush. Why is he looking out for her? He... doesn't have to. And she wasn't sure what he was talking about, anyway, so telling him not to feel guilty is out of the question when she can't understand him in the first place.

Then, Juniper realizes it's a little too hot outside for the middle of winter.

* * *

**will be continued. i love Athena and Juniper's friendship, but here we have a different side of it. not sure how long this will be, probably three parts if i had to guess, though.**


	2. shut in

**Thanks for the reviews, sweetums. And fyi, there will be no jerky characters in the very end.**

**In this part, the drama starts to begin. iii has tons of Junipollo and some Claypollo (friendship or ship) feels everywhere. I was crying and then screaming of cute while I wrote it. I like both pairings, friendship and shipping, but Junipollo is just kal;sfjkldasjlf.**

**Anyway, just so you know, Athena and Juniper aren't going to fight the way you and I fight with our friends. It's so hard to write Juniper like that because she's so gentle, and she's more like a pacifist than any other character in the series, and I can't picture anybody yelling at her because she's... **_**Juniper**_**! Yelling at her would be like kicking a puppy when it's asleep.**

**With that said, I don't own Ace Attorney.**

* * *

**quiet**

**(pull your petals in.)**

* * *

**Part Two**

* * *

_i._

* * *

Juniper's mind had raced with thoughts of what Apollo had last said, and the next little get together Athena had planned, most likely with the help of Trucy. She didn't get much studying done, to say the least. It was a shame, because she had heard the upcoming test was difficult. But no matter what she did, her mind just slipped out of it.

_"You shouldn't let her control you like that."_

Juniper had thought it over time and time again. Did he mean that Athena was taking advantage of her? But... Thena wouldn't do such a thing. Sure, she had her moments - where she used her puppy dog look, or maybe manipulated her. But most of the time it wasn't a big deal - and it certainly wasn't now.

Apollo was probably overreacting.

...Right?

* * *

_ii._

* * *

"Didn't you say you had studying to do?"

Why was she not surprised?

"Yes, but I did make a promise to Thena, and I... I can't break it. It would probably crush her, and I don't want to do that."

"But you also made a promise to Hugh and Robin, didn't you?"

Juniper let out a gasp. Yes, she had, but it had been forever since someone had brought it up. They had maybe mentioned it in their group, plus Myriam, but not as much after the case where Ms. Courte had...

...That was a little rude of Apollo. Especially since he had been there and had seen how much the three of them had tried to keep their promise. Juniper didn't know what to say. She didn't look at him, only let out short, shallow breaths and stood there in silence for a few seconds, until Apollo broke it.

"Um... I'm sorry. That was insensitive... I'm just worried."

"It's... it's alright. I know you didn't mean any harm," Juniper started, but Apollo looked less than convinced. He looked very guilty. "Apollo, it's fine. Really. I know that you're only looking out for me."

Juniper's forgiving words probably sounded hollow, but they had been enough to appease Apollo, who was still very confusing.

"But, um... if you don't mind me asking -"

"Junie!"

Thena. She sounded peppy and excited, and bounded up to them full of life and energy. Her smile was big, and she seemed to radiate golden sunlight.

"Hello, Thena," Juniper said, smile lighting up her features.

"I'm glad you could make it!"

"Me too. I... really needed a break from studying."

Studying. Right. That's what Juniper had been doing.

"Okay, look, so I know you need to study and the test is pretty big, but there's this thing tonight that I really need you to -"

"Actually, Juniper and I have plans tonight."

What.

Juniper paled and then blushed. What was Apollo doing?

"Really?" Athena asks, sly as ever. She was still curious though, as if she knew Apollo was hiding something. You could see it in her eyes and by her quirked brow.

"Yeah," Apollo replies, brisk and calm. Juniper is very, very puzzled as to how Apollo could sound so casual about his little white lie.

"Oh, alright," Athena says, winking at Juniper, "It wasn't much of a big deal anyway."

...What? Didn't she plan to beg and plead Juniper beforehand? Athena smiles and walks away, with a face that plainly says 'call me later.' Juniper quickly tries to wipe her blush off her face.

"Apollo, we... we don't have plans tonight."

"You were doing it again."

"What?"

"Look... just bring your stuff by the agency later tonight. I'll help you study."

"Are you sure you want to?"

"Yeah. Sure. I promise."

Juniper blushes. It's a very sweet sentiment, especially for her since it's from Apollo, lord of the sun and what not. "Thank you."

* * *

_iii._

* * *

For the most part, Apollo does help her study. Juniper plays with her pigtails multiple times; even though he's staying strange things, especially about Thena, he's still Apollo and he still makes her feel all warm and fuzzy.

She gets a lot more studying done than normal, despite how hard to concentrate it really should be.

"Um... A-apollo? Thank you for helping me study..."

He smiles that pretty smile, kind and gentle. But there's... just something about him when he stops smiling that...

"You really were going to let her do it again."

"By her, do you mean Thena?"

He nods.

"Could you... explain?"

"You let her control you."

She hestitates, "I... don't."

"I watch you. You let her tell you where to go and when to be there, but that's not even the half of it. Sometimes you're like an obediant puppy, obeying her like that."

"I..."

Juniper snaps her mouth shut. Everything suddnely tastes very stale and raw, and she doesn't want to believe that Apollo's right, but he probably is. She has no response for him. He sits there, watching her mull over and digest his words. Juniper goes back to playing with her hair, unable to look him in the eyes with such a serious atmosphere. (Though it would be difficult to no matter the atmosphere.)

"I didn't realize that she was... _controlling _me. I mean, I guess I knew that I was listening to Athena..."

He stares at her, as if he doesn't believe her. She watches his hand move to his wrist and then _he knows_. He knows that she's lying, though Juniper's sure she's doing it subconciously.

She coughs, "I... I... can't really help it," she begins, stumbling over words like a broken record, "I mean... Thena's been more like a sister to me and she's... saved me so many times that I've lost count. She's never let me down, but I... I'm not like her. I can't do things like that."

She pauses to cough.

"I guess I was just listening to her because she's my friend and because... I have no other way to prove it except by doing the things she asks of me, since I can't..." she stops with another cough, "show it as well as she can."

Apollo looks upset.

"So... I guess I was just subconciously letting her control me, but I didn't even realize it was that bad or that I was even doing it until you brought it up."

"I'm just worried about you. I had a friend like that. He used to control everything his friends did, and we never... we never stood up to him. He made us lose sleep and do bad things that got us into a lot of trouble."

He looks to the side, and Juniper wants to hold his hand, as if to say it's okay to tell her these kinds of things.

"I never noticed it, either, until someone else brought it up. We had been really close friends for years, and he started to get worried about me."

"Oh."

Juniper gets it, very suddenly. The friend that noticed... "It was Clay, wasn't it? The one who noticed?"

And though she's sure she's not brave enough and that it's too courageous for her, and she'll blush all day and night about it later, she takes his hand in hers.

He nods, slowly and sadly, "But... I wasn't like Clay. He stood up to the boy and... they beat him up."

Juniper squeezes his hand. He squeezes back.

"Clay was a lot like my Athena. He always stood up for me, and I wasn't ever that brave," Apollo takes a breath, "My point is, I... I don't want you to end up like me or the kids who beat up Clay. They were all trained to obey, and then it was like they had no minds of their own, and they couldn't get away because the other boy helped them out by hurting their bullies in return for minions."

Juniper squeezes his hand again. It must have taken a lot of courage to get that out. He doesn't talk about Clay as much as he used to, and never a story like that.

"I promise that... I won't end up like that. I'll make sure that I'm still me," Juniper starts, "And... um, if it'll make you feel any better, I'll talk to Thena tomorrow."

Apollo nods, and then Junipe realizes she still has his hand. For some reason, she suddenly feels brave.

"And... Apollo?"

He looks up.

"I... think that telling me about that was brave enough. You don't have to stand up for people the way Clay did to be brave... And I'm sure that Clay would think you're pretty brave now."

Apollo begins to move so fast that by the time she finishes her sentence, his arms are around her and everything is so warm and comforting.

"You... don't need to worry about me, anyway."

Her words slip out slowly, and with his arms now embracing her, and Juniper's blushing too hard. She wonders if he plans to ever let her go, and then he interrupts her thoughts with words that make her burn.

"Of course I have to worry about you."

* * *

_iv._

* * *

She did make a promise to Apollo. It hurts as she walks up to Athena, because she's not sure how to go about something like this. She can feel her hands grabbing her hair and the feeling in her throat making her want to cough. But there's none of that today.

She has to be brave. Like she promised.

She walks calmly up to Athena, and clears her throat.

"Thena?"

She turns around. Okay, step one complete.

"We... we have to talk."

"Okay!"

They walk out of the hearing distance of those around them. Athena's still relatively happy, and Juniper doesn't know how she's going to get _any_ words out at all.

"Oh! Junie, I have to ask for a favor! Will you come by the agency tonight?"

...Apollo warned you about this, she thinks, but she replies differently.

"What are you doing?"

"Probably nothing important."

So then what's the point? Any other day would be okay, but her big test is tomorrow, and she really does need to study.

"Thena, you know I can't. I have the test and I've been trying to study for days now."

Athena purses her lips.

"Please, Thena, I just need to study."

Athena grumbles, "You had time for _Apollo_."

"Oh, Thena, please... don't do that. Apollo was helping me study."

Athena says nothing in reply, and her facial expression doesn't change. She still seems relatively upset, as if she's jealous, like Juniper had spent less time with her.

"Thena, you have to stop being so... controlling. I can't do everything you want me to do."

Eep! That... that sounded so rude and horrible and awful and just -

Athena's eyes widen. "What are you talking about?"

Her voice is loud, but she's not shouting.

"I mean that I can't be a puppy on a leash. There are other things I have to do, and I need you to understand that I make promises to other people, too."

Oh dear. She lets out a cough, but makes it sound like she's clearing her throat, though she's sure her chest is shaking and Athena probably knows that this is killing her inside. She can read emotions, and Juniper's too easy to read.

"I know that but I -"

"Thena, I'm sorry... But I... I really do have to study, okay? I can't be... controlled anymore."

Juniper walks off, and the second she gets out of Athena's range of hearing (or as far away as possible because of Athena's super sweet hearing abilities), she begins to cough. That was _far too much_and she feels like a big, fat jerk. She really, really needs her medicine.

She doesn't know if she's going home to study, but she does know that she's not going to get anything done when she feels like this.

* * *

**I want you to know that Juniper's reaction is plausible. She wouldn't feel too great about doing something like that, especially knowing that Athena knows that she's angry, but also very sad and upset about having to do something like this. I don't think Athena would yell because... Juniper, but also because she can read emotions and she can probably tell the emotional storm inside.**


End file.
